This episode was frustrating in a number of ways, and seems to be blatantly explaining how the season is going to end, but not giving us any movement towards that.
1. Shade, thrown
The use of “Shade,” or ‘The Shade’ as he is more commonly known, was so incredibly frustrating in this episode, I don’t even know where to begin. The Shade – as re-introduced into DC Comics last week in, you guessed it, “The Flash” – is one of the most nuanced and interesting characters in DC’s back pocket, and here he was reduced to…I don’t even know what the fuck you would call it.
This is the definition of a wasted opportunity.
The show has really struggled to find villains that a) aren’t speedsters, b) aren’t the Rogues, and c) that have any nuance to them whatsoever. That Shade is all of those things, and his shadow powers could pretty easily be done on the show. Why would they relegate him to such a tiny part? Maybe another Earth’s Shade will pop up at some point, but that seems unnecessarily complex.
Sigh.
2. Wally, the wannabe speedster
I understand all sides of the current Wally dilemma, but everybody needs to take a step back and look at the situation a little more clearly. Obviously, Wally is going to be upset that everyone is fighting against his desire to become a speedster, but he also isn’t stupid. He has to realize that they are coming at this from a place of love and experience. They have seen what Dr. Alchemy did to Magenta, and they are trying to stop the same thing from happening to him.
I know that TV has to invent conflict, but this seems like the wrong hill for Wally to go emo on. And, partly through the episode, he figures that out, too. But the crux of the problem is still there: the show wants Wally to be two things: an aspirational speedster and a mopey #millennial. He doesn’t need to be both – he can want to be a speedster without throwing a fit over it.
3. HR
First off, HR’s haircut is dumb.
Secondly, fuck that dude for shoehorning in on Joe’s date. Joe deserves some love, you goofy sonofabitch. Joe just gives and gives and gives, CAN’T HE HAVE A GOOD DATE FOR ONCE?
My HR patience is wearing quite thin, and then the show has to essentially create a scenario where Tom Cavanaugh is starring in a Quantum Leap reboot, and I have to fall in love with that idea and weep over the fact that it will never actually happen. THEY EVEN DID THE MIRROR THING.
WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME, CW?
4. Vibing the future
So, one relief in this episode was the discussion between Cisco and Caitlin about her powers. I was afraid this was going to stretch out over ten weeks, to eventually boil over. Instead, we got a pretty clear conversation about what is going on, and began to think about possibilities for the future.
Now, forgive my memory – I blame two small kids, reviewing three CW shows a week, and a decade plus of heavy drinking – has Cisco been able to Vibe the future before? Wasn’t it always vibing other realities or Earths? Is this yet another residual effect of Flashpoint?
I think, so far, the Caitlin stuff has been handled pretty well, and I see her going full on evil sooner than later, which brings me to my final point.
5. This season’s endgame
Barry has to go back in time and stop himself from creating Flashpoint again, doesn’t he? I’m not talking about what he did last time – he has to somehow go back in time before that and stop himself from ever starting that process. Due to the weird time travel rules of this universe, I think that is possible, and it seems like the only way to really fix all the problems of both the season and the show in general:
– it can stop Caitlin from becoming Killer Frost
– it can stop Dante from dying
Continued below
– it can prevent Alchemy from getting into people’s heads
– it will get Barry’s annoying CSI partner out of the picture
– it will give Diggle his daughter back on Arrow
– it will save Wally
I know that the whole season is probably leading to this moment, and that’s fine, but then why give us villains like the Shade, or even Savitar, who was introduced at the end of the episode, if the real villain is Barry himself? If the idea that Flashpoint changed so much is the focal point of the season, then why not have just made a good chunk of the season in the Flashpoint timeline, instead of creating this weird third timeline? To me, this is the worst of both worlds: it isn’t the show that we love, nor is it the funhouse mirror version. This is the like people who mix regular and decaffeinated coffee into a bastard amalgamation of hot drink. Pick a side, we’re at war!
My one hope is that at this point the show does decide to go full on weirdness, and show us more Vibe vs Killer Frost action, a speedster Wally, and all the other points of interest that we would love to see, but then can erase neatly. Sure, it is a cop out, but at least it is an entertaining cop out, instead of this halfway point nonsense.
Am I off base here, or does the show seem like it is limping towards another reset? Let me know in the comments.
